Lion announces its first electric Class 8 Urban Truck

Canada's Lion Electric – the company behind the electric bus we covered in 2017 – has announced the upcoming release of the Lion8, an all-electric urban truck that's built to withstand harsh North American weather extremes.

The Lion8 hasn't been designed to take on electric long-haulers like those from Tesla and Nikola, but rather to quietly and cleanly deliver goods in urban areas. It has a curb weight of 24,600 lb (11,160 kg) and a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating of 54,600 lb.

The Urban Truck is reported to have a 400 km (250 mi) per charge range of its (up to) 480 kWh Li-ion battery pack. Its electric motor puts the equivalent of 470 horses on tap, twists 2,507 lb-ft (3,500 Nm) of torque and gets it up to a top speed of 65 mph (105 km/h). Lion also says that the truck boasts an unparalleled turning radius, though no specifics are given.

Rather than just convert an ICE truck to an electric, the Lion8's custom built chassis and cabin have been designed specifically for electric hauling. The company reckons that operators can look forward to an energy cost reduction of up to 80 percent, while making substantial total operational cost savings too.

The Lion8 is showing as currently up for pre-order, with Société des Alcools du Québec taking delivery of the first truck in the second half of the year.